Volkswagen Passat Maintenance and Repair

Comments

Hi. I'm not a mechanic per se, so I am not that great with codes but I do program computers and I know that some symptoms can create others. The big one that stands out here for me is the clutch slippage one. It seems to me like that one could cause at least some of the others. However, with 68K miles on it, it doesn't seem like a clutch would be slipping. Seems too soon, unless... the car is driven or was driven hard!

It has been a while since your first post and you don't mention if this car was bought new or used. If you bought it used you may have some recourse with the dealer you bought it from. If you bought it new you may be able to have it fixed on warrantee. Either way I think it looks like you need transmission work.

I have a 2002 Passat that has "SQUEAKY" Brakes, does any one have some ideas to try to quite these squeaky brakes. I have new brake pads on all four wheels, rotors are in great condition. So if anyone has some good tricks to try, any and all information would be most helpful.

Usually "squeaky" brakes are caused by dust or a wear bar designed to cause squeaking when the pads wear down to a certain point. Since you say you have replaced the pads, the wear bar is not likely. Did you have the rotors turned when putting in new pads. It is possible that the rotors are glazed and causing the squeaking. Turning the rotors evens the surface and gives it a surface the pads can bite on and improves stopping capability as well.

Need more info! When did the squeak appear - right after the install of the new pads? Who supplied the brake pads - OEM, aftermarket, name-brand, what? What is the composition of the pad material, organic, semi-metallic, ceramic? Who did the install? Can you tell what wheel position is squeaking?

I've read, although not actually experienced myself, squeaking from the front brakes can be due to the retaining clips on the inner pad not holding the pad tight enough. The front inner pad retainer clip fits into the piston in the brake caliper. On some of the aftermarket pads, the clip is too loose, allowing the pad to vibrate and squeak. The cure is to remove the inner pad and bend the clips outward to grip better.

Alternatively, it could simply be a matter of just applying some brake quiet paste to the backing surfaces of the pads, where they come in contact with the caliper. Again, the idea is to eliminate vibration which is what the squeal/squeak is.

Here's a link to a photo of the a VW front inner pad showing the retaining clip (it's the bottom one):

I've had the car for two years without trouble. All of a sudden it's costing me a mint (at almost 125K miles). By the end of this month I will have put in $3,000 or more since the beginning of the year.

The current problem happens very intermittently. When we are going at low RPMs and accellerate quickly (like to pass another vehicle or go up a hill), the engine stutters/hesitates like it isn't getting enough gas. I have a VW shop (not dealer - independent) up the hill here. They first diagnosed it as a bad spark plug (caused by running low on gas, sediment getting in & fouling a cylinder). So replaced the plug ($120 repair). I drove it away and a few miles later the problem is there again. So back to the shop. This time they say fuel injectors - and I may as well replace all 6 since with the high mileage if one is failing the others may be following soon. So replaced all six (total $725). Picked it up last night & was running fine for me today but after about 10-12 miles, when my boyfriend got behind the wheel - he is a more spirited driver than I am - the problem showed up again. Every time the check engine light has come on (and stayed on). I don't want to keep pouring money into this car for mechanics to take stabs at fixing it. I found this VW shop recently but they seem reasonable (and are certainly saving me money over the dealer). If anyone out there has had similar problems and/or has ideas I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

If anyone in Seattle knows of a really good VW shop I'd love to know about that as well.

If you want to keep this car then have the engine checked if it does not cost much. I rememeber I did that on a Honda about 10 years ago and it cost $40 and most shop can do that with machine. To check if the engine compression is low. Usually one or more cylinders are low on old cars or overused cars. If that happens it's time to change the car. It's only worth to pour a little more money on that car if the engine is in good working condition.

Get the codes pulled from the onboard diagnostics. You can this done for free at some of the national chain auto parts stores. Post the codes that you find. Sounds like your garage is just throwing parts at it. They're NOT saving you money over a dealer if they can't fix the car....

I have the same problem, I haven't done anything about it for 10,000 miles. The problems comes and goes every now and then. There was another person on this forum who had the same problem. He/She took it to the dealer and they replaced the transmission module and it was fixed. It cost around 2000 dollars I think.

If you have the triptronic transmission, I would advise you to pop it down a gear using that, manually, before you break something.

i have a 99 passat and the last time my bulb burned out I just went to the nearest auto parts store and grabbed a bulb(after matching my car model and year to the bulb of course) and put it in myself.. It was really easy and I dont remember spending too much money. All you have to do is plug the bulb in, VW makes it pretty easy to change it, I think!

I don't know about an '08 Passat but I think you can just buy a headlight low beam or high beam bulb for 10 - 20 dollars?

Ya, well the newer passats have HID lights, and cost about $200 or so if they burn out after the 12mth or so warranty. I called the VW service, but they said they typically don't see too many problems. hmmm, well I will definitely have to think of that too, but its not too bad.

Okay, here is the deal, I am thinking of getting the 08 Komfort Passat, Love it, great package, Fun!! Very similar to my 06 Accord feel, but has more goodies, my lease is up on the Accord, shopping around, and found this Passat, got a good lease quote, haven't signed, but based on what others are saying, it is making me scared on the VW maintanence, I see both reviews, good and bad, I don't know what to think. The lease is 36mth, so should I be worried about problems or the engine??My mothers 04 Jetta, has been pretty much trouble free, literally. I am a Honda guy, but you know what, there are other great cars, and this car has tons of fun packed in it!! Love the 6spd Tiptronic. Am I being really overly paranoid about it all, Really I don't see many, or hardly any newer model problems posted, so I am guessing that is a good sign..lol... The car has the 2.0T engine, should I be worried about that, what if I choose to own it after my lease end, will my turbo eventually start running slow...? Am I reading into all the posts too much, and really it seems to me that the VW has gotten better over time with problems, but consumers don't let a company live that down. Even the new 08 Accord has a few bugs. I haven't had any problems with my 06 Accord.

Now of course, every car is going to have some glitch or little problem, but that is if you consider them a problem...So let me know what you guys think, Am I just making a bigger deal of it all what I read?

Hi, my lease is up in 9 months for my '06 Passat. Consumer report shows VW's having 2x the repair issues as compared to Toyota's and Honda's. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet as I like the car and its power, but the mileage isn't that great on my 4cyl turbo as most of my mileage is around town. The residual will be about $16,800 and I'm not sure whether to buy, extend the lease, or find a more economical car. I'd consider a Rabbit, or Civic, or something else. What are other people doing when their lease is up. Thanks all.

Go with the Passat...if your worried about maintenance/repair, then lease and turn back in. I have a 2002 Passat Wagon (1.8T) and only issues have been some recalls. Sure Passats might be a little more expensive to maintain, but boy, are they fun to drive. Gas mileage is great and you get more bang for the buck vs. Accord. I have owned both and consider the Passat a much more enjoyable car.

Dear all,I'm a Navy guy stationed in Seoul, Korea. Thanks to some great advice, I felt comfortable enough to purchase a 2003 Passat GLS (1.8T) with only 36,000 miles on it. I've owned the car for about 3 months and it's been a pleasure to drive. I've put on about 600 miles during that time, and here are some minor issues I've experienced.1. My car suddenly idled roughly and the check engine light came on. I barely made it a local car repair guy and he was able to diagnose it quickly and determined that I needed two new ignition coils. My car was essentially running on 2 out of 4 cyclinders. Hence, the rough idling. Since I'm overseas, I had to opt for VW dealership's price of $75 per coil, and I purchased two more online to replace the remaining two in order to have brand new coils on all four cyclinders. 2. The brake light had some bulbs burning out and I couldn't simply replace them with standard bulbs from Korea, because the off-set angles between the two engagement pins are 120 degrees apart instead of 180 degrees. Apparently, Audis, Mercedes, BMWs, and VWs share this same offset compared to the rest of the world. I'm ordering some bulbs online.3. The brake pads only lasts about 12,000 miles, and I'm planning to order the pads in advance.4. I've been reading discussions about the waterpump and the timing belt. Since my car is 5 years old, should I consider replacing them with only 37,000 miles on the car?5. The previous owner installed an after-market Xenon kit for the headlights and it was going to be too much money to replace the burnt out bulbs, so I had the whole thing ripped out and reinstalled the standard Halogen lamps. Has anybody gone through the same experience?6. The seller forgot to give me the owner's manual and I forgot to check the glove compartment. Can you tell me where to go for a replacement owner's manual?

Dear All,I couldn't order an used owner's manual from e-bay, because they won't ship to APO/FPO address. I've found Bentleypublishers.com and ordered my owner's manual. I still wondering if I could get some expert opinions on the water pump and the timing belt.

Hi - I just replaced the Timing Belt and Water pump on my 2002 Passat Wagon (1.8T)...have 65K on it...most of the postings I read dealt with mileage vs. age on the timing belt. Seemed like most were recommending replacement of both between 60-70K. Dealership/owners manual will tell you to change around 90K, but I would not risk it. Not a cheap repair either - will run you $900-$1000, because of the Labor involved (approx 6-7 hours). If you do get it done, I would recommend having all belts changed (ie. 2 serp belts as well) and possibly the Thermostat. My car has been pretty reliable, had a few recalls (ignition coils being one), replaced rear brakes at 30K, one CV boot at 40K, the other at 60K. Other than, nothing noteworthy...just keep using the recommended full synthetic for 5K oil changes. Good luck!

I have two 1.8Ts (2003 Jetta, 2003 Passat). As far as the owners manual is concerned - timing belt replacement every 90,000 miles is pretty reasonable (given that the timing belt itself is very robust) - with one caveat. If you replaced the original OEM plastic water pump with a new OEM plastic water pump, I wouldn't go beyond 65,000 mile intervals, given the water pump's uncanny ability to disintegrate at that time.

However, if you purchased a complete timing belt kit from a reputable VW aftermarket parts supplier (germanautoparts.com comes to mind), the kit will more than likely have the improved aftermarket waterpump with the metal impeller, along with a timing belt, serpentine belt, hydraulic tensioners and (if you order the deluxe kit), a thermostat. The metal water pump will extend your timing belt change intervals to the 90,000 - 100,000 mile range (as recommended by the factory).

Here's a rule of thumb that I follow:

If the car is mainly used for urban (stop and go) driving, perform the timing belt service every 65,000-75,000 miles (regardless of whether the car has the OEM plastic water pump or the aftermarket metal water pump). Stop and go driving generates more heat, and wear & tear on engine components in general (than highway driving) - especially rubber and plastic components. I would also recommend an oil change every 3500 miles in this scenario.

If the car is mainly used for highway driving, then perform the timing belt service at 65,000 miles (if you have the OEM plastic water pump), or 90,000-100,000 miles (if you have the aftermarket metal water pump). This is the scenario where oil changes at 5000 mile intervals is definitely applicable...

The 2003 Passat owner's manual, VW's website, and the Bentley manual all show the manufacturer's recommended TB interval at 105K, not 90K. Bentley's has a footnote showing their editors recommend 60K. I'm aiming for 60 to 65K myself, with mostly suburban driving. I think your rule of thumb is right on, though.

For what its worth, I have an '02 Passat 1.8t currently with 115k miles. I have owned it since about 38k miles. I replaced the timing belt and water pump (new one w/ metal impeller) at 105k miles (actually, a little above that) in December, and the one the mechanic took out was in great shape. There was some corrosion around the water pump indicating that it was getting ready to start leaking, but there was no problem yet. I bought parts online, installed by an independent mechanic (with years of experience working on German cars) for about $500 total, as I recall.

My Passat ('02 1.8t) seems to think the driver's door is open at times. The problem has progressed over the past 4 months -- it used to go away with a firm re-shutting of the door, but now the chime is going of constantly sometimes, and other times doesn't.

I think a sensor may be dirty or have a bad connection. I can't seem to find the location of the sensor to check it. Anyone have experience with this problem?

My '02 1.8t Passat has been perfectly reliable. I've put nearly 80k miles on it in almost 3 years (yeah, I've spent a lot of time in it!). Aside from an ignition coil replaced due to a recall (didn't fail, however) and several headlights burning out, I haven't had a single problem with it (current door sensor issue aside, see my above post). It has been lots more reliable than the last Honda product I owned (an '01 Acura TL that chewed up 2 transmissions and the dash gauges failed in 2 years/33k miles of ownership). Not bashing Acuras or Hondas at all -- that 5-spd transmission in the TL was under-engineered for that engine, and has since been remedied. But just goes to show that all brands -- even Honda and Toyota -- have periodic engineering problems and sometimes consumers pay the price for those shortfalls.

I love driving my Passat, by the way. Even though it has less power than the TL had, and isn't quite as luxurious (mine is a GLS w/ 5-spd, leather, ect), it is just really fun to drive -- there is just a better connection with the road and the car that is hard to describe. i can't speak for the new body styles, but I really like my '02.

The 2003 Passat owner's manual, VW's website, and the Bentley manual all show the manufacturer's recommended TB interval at 105K,

Like splitting hairs, eh?

I have the Bentley Manuals for the B5 Passat, AND Mk4 Jetta/Golf, so I am very much aware of the 105K recommendation. The 90K-100K interval is MY recommendation - I prefer to err on the side of caution rather than roll the dice on a $5,000+ engine replacement.

Having owned and worked on VWs (Mk1 through Mk4) for the past 27 years (including performing many timing belt jobs myself), I believe I know a thing or two about timing belts.... :shades: